Dhanumati is the fourth wife of Dhrishtadyumna, the warrior of the Panchala Kingdom and the son of King DrupadaTemplate:Ref. He is the brother of Draupadi and Shikhandi. It's said that Dhrishtadyumna not only had one wife, but many wives. Her name echoes with "Bhanumati ", the second wife of Duryodhana. Sometimes, she is depicted as the friend of Draupadi, who was close to her. Duryodhana found a way to kidnap her but Dhanumati however escapes and goes with Dhrishtadyumna into his chariotTemplate:Efn. Her legends are basically unknown in Mahabharata, but for the wide of Dhrishtadyumna, mainly Shashwathi is mentioned. Shashirekha is mentioned to be the daughter of Brihadratha and the sister of King JarasandhaTemplate:Efn. Dhanumati had beautiful features just like Bhanumati and Mayuri. So, Dhrishtadyumna won her hand in the Swayamvara and so her father married her off to Dhrishtadyumna, knowing he is a learned prince. More stories say, she is the daughter of Bhagadatta, son of Narakasura and his wife, MayaTemplate:Ref. Vyasa simplified Dhanumati's stories into a different way so that people cannot be confused as people can think Dhanumati can be either Bhanumati's name. And then, later, Kauravas were added to the stories, to simplify Subhadra's story. The texts of Bhagavata Purana mention, her father as Bhagadatta in some versions.
Mostly, she is mentioned in some of the texts in Bhagavata Purana and some other texts. The mentions in other Puranas are unnamed but she is most likely to mentioned in Vayu Purana of Mahabharata, or Garuda Purana. She was a twin of Bhanumati.
Versions in Mahabharata
Indonesian
Danowati
Danowati, who was a beautiful girl of Pragjyotisha Kingdom, or Kamarupa was a princess who used to love Dhrishtadyumna from her early childhood. She was the twin and younger sister of Banowati (Bhanumati) and daughter of Bagadata. Her father refrained her from meeting Dhrishtadyumna as he wanted Dhanumati to marry one of the Kauravas. She rejected the proposal with Duryodhana and did not even look at him. This angers Duryodhana and asks Bhagadatta to arrange his Force marriage with Dhanumati. When Dhanumati gets this message, she was scared and she starts writing a letter to Dhrishtadyumna. He read the letter and went to Pragjyotisha and kidnapped Danowati (Dhanumati). There, Danowati peacefully marries Drestadyumna (Dhrishtadyumna) happily. Bhagadatta, angrily gets the news and tries to take his daughter back to his kingdom by sending soldiers, but Dhrishtadyumna killed all the soldiers and did not allow the soldiers to take Dhanumati away.
Tamil
தனுமதி (Dhanumathi)
In the Tamil folktale of Mahabharata, her story remains the same and will not change but in the Tamilian Mahabharata, she appears thrice in the epic and her complexion, her description, all I'd mentioned thrice. Tamilian Mahabharata says Bhanumati and Dhanumati (the two twin sisters of Mahabharata) were illustrated with one pot in their hands and searching for water. While they were talking, they suddenly came in the Kurukshetra War which Duryodhana was mesmerized by both of their beauty. That's why Dhanumati rejected Duryodhana for marrying a another princess (Mayuri) and her elder twin sister (Bhanumati), without no reason. She is depicted to play garbha and dandiya with Dhrishtadyumna in Tamil stories.
References